Flint's Washington Elementary students are escorted to school in October for National Walk to School Day. Students from Durant-Tuuri-Mott and Washington Elementary schools took part in the event in an effort to keep the students active and promote safe neighborhoods as part of the Safe Routes to School initiative.
Ryan Garza | MLive.com file photo

FLINT, MI -- Grant-funded road and sidewalk improvements are set to begin on the streets around an eastside Flint school after city officials committed to maintaining the area in the future.

Washington Elementary, 1400 N. Vernon Ave., has been awarded a $389,900 federal grant as part of the national Safe Routes to School Initiative, which funds safety improvements and educational programs that promote active lifestyles and safe neighborhoods for children.

The grant required the city to agree to do any necessary maintenance work that may arise after the project is completed, and Flint emergency financial manager Ed Kurtz signed off on the project Dec. 6.

The grant-funded work, which does not require any matching funds from the city, will include installing sidewalks and crosswalks on Ohio, Missouri, Arlington, Franklin and Vernon avenues, as well as pedestrian countdown signals at the intersection of Vernon and Davison Road.

Theresa Roach, coordinator of the Safe Routes to School program, said about one-third of the students at Washington walk to school.

She said the grant investment will not only help keep kids safe, but also will improve the way people view the neighborhood.

"The funds are going to help the kids who have to walk to
school or who want to walk to school," she said. "And if it's easier for kids to get somewhere, it's
easier for everyone else to get around, too."

Flint's Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary is also a grant recipient under the Safe Routes to School Initiative.